Humane officers can carry guns; may get more power

The Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals could soon have more authority. Humane officers will be armed — and they may become exempt from lawsuits.

BETH BRELJE

The Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals could soon have more authority.

Humane officers will be armed — and they may become exempt from lawsuits.

Officers will start carrying guns some time in January. The agency's board recently approved the decision, according to PSPCA chief executive Howard Nelson.

"The animal abusers are already armed," Nelson said in an interview with the Pocono Record. Two Stroudsburg-based humane officers will be the first to carry guns, according to Nelson.

Humane officers will receive training before being armed. Nelson stressed that the guns are to be used only for self-protection, never to euthanize an animal.

In his August resignation from the PSPCA board, longtime member Richard Elliott predicted the move to arms. Calling it a "quiet move" to have PSPCA humane officers carry concealed firearms, Elliott wrote: "It is true that such arming is permitted by law, conditioned upon proof of completion of legislatively prescribed training. However, I strongly feel that accomplishment of such arming is a recipe for tragedy and potential serious liability, at the very least. If our agents feel concern for their safety when out in the field, there are ample nonlethal means to allay such worries. A noninclusive list ranges from expandable batons ("bite sticks"), to a variety of chemical sprays to the use of taser technology."

Elliott's entire letter can be read online at www.

poconorecord.com/pspca.

While the gun policy is a done deal, proposed legislation that would give humane officers immunity from litigation is not. It will have to be revisited in the 2009 session of the state senate.

House Bill 2547 would grant humane police officers civil immunity when investigating animal cruelty cases. The bill was introduced in May by state Rep. John Siptroth, D-189. It says that a humane society police officer performing an investigation or enforcement will be immune from any civil action for damages brought by or on behalf of any person involved in the investigation. The bill would treat humane officers as if they are public employees.

"This would allow officers to go on private property without fear of civil litigation. They would be able to break down doors if needed. It will stimulate more activity by humane officers," Siptroth said.

The legislation to give humane officers limited civil immunity did not make the cut in the 2008 session.

Siptroth says he intends to reintroduce it in 2009. He believes it will easily pass when legislators consider it.

For animal owners worried that the law gives human officers carte blanche, Siptroth says, "If they are treating their animals properly they have nothing to fear."